WeGive Dunning Flow

Last updated: March 17, 2026

What Is Dunning?

Dunning is WeGive’s automated system for recovering failed recurring payments. When a scheduled recurring donation fails (for example, due to an expired card, insufficient funds, or a closed bank account), the dunning flow automatically retries the charge, notifies the donor, and — if all retries fail — pauses the recurring plan.

The goal is to recover as many failed payments as possible without requiring manual intervention from your team, while keeping donors informed at every step.

Enabling Dunning

Dunning is controlled by a single organization-level setting.

How to Enable

Go to Engagement > Triggers.
Customize and enable Recurring Installment Failed #1, 2, 3, and 4.
Go to your Organization Settings.
Locate the Enable Dunning Flow toggle.
Turn it on.

Important: When dunning is disabled, failed recurring payments will trigger a generic “donation_failed” notification instead of the dunning sequence. No automatic retries will occur, and plans will not be paused automatically.

What Dunning Enables

Automatic retry attempts on a fixed schedule (up to 4 total attempts).
Sequenced donor notification emails at each stage.
Automatic plan pausing after all retries are exhausted.

The Dunning Timeline

When a recurring payment fails, the dunning flow follows a fixed 4-attempt sequence. The timing and behavior at each step are built into the system and apply uniformly to all organizations with dunning enabled.

Step	When	What Happens	Donor Notification	Plan Status
1. Initial Failure	Day 1	Payment is attempted and fails. System records the failed transaction and schedules the first retry.	recurring_installment_failed_1 email sent immediately.	Active
2. First Retry	Day 3	System automatically retries the charge using the same payment method. If it fails again, a second retry is scheduled.	recurring_installment_failed_2 email sent.	Active
3. Second Retry	Day 5	System retries again. If it fails, the third retry is scheduled for the next regular billing cycle date (or 2 days if the billing date has already passed).	recurring_installment_failed_3 email sent.	Active
4. Final Retry	Next billing cycle	Last automatic attempt. If this fails, the recurring plan is paused indefinitely. No more retries are scheduled.	recurring_installment_failed_4 email sent.	Paused (indefinitely)

How it works: Between retries 1–2 and 2–3, the system waits exactly 2 days. The wait between retries 3 and 4 is longer — it aligns with the donor’s next regular billing cycle to give them time to update their payment method. If that billing date has already passed, the system falls back to a 2-day wait.

Visual Flow

Payment Fails

↓

Email #1 sent → Wait 2 days → Retry #1

↓ (if fails)

Email #2 sent → Wait 2 days → Retry #2

↓ (if fails)

Email #3 sent → Wait for next billing cycle → Retry #3

↓ (if fails)

Email #4 sent → Plan Paused Indefinitely

At ANY point: if a retry succeeds → Plan returns to Active → Dunning exits

What Happens to the Recurring Plan

During Dunning

While the dunning sequence is active, the recurring plan remains in Active status. The regular billing schedule continues to advance independently — meaning if the next scheduled payment comes due while dunning is still in progress, the system is aware and handles it. A next_retry_at date is tracked internally so the system knows when to attempt the next charge.

After All Retries Fail

When the 4th and final attempt fails, the system:

Sets the plan’s paused_at timestamp to the current date and time.
Sets the pause type to “indefinite” (meaning it will not auto-resume on a specific date).
Clears the next_retry_at field so no more automatic retries are scheduled.
Sends the final dunning notification (recurring_installment_failed_4).

Important: An indefinitely paused plan will not process any further payments until a staff member or the donor manually resumes it. It does not auto-reactivate.

Resuming After Dunning

To reactivate a plan that was paused by dunning:

Ensure the donor has a valid payment method on file (update if needed).
Open the recurring plan and click Resume.
Select a valid future date for the next installment.
The plan returns to Active status and resumes its normal schedule.

How Donors Exit the Dunning Flow

A donor is removed from the dunning sequence automatically when any of the following occurs:

Exit Condition	What Happens
A retry payment succeeds	The plan returns to active status. The regular billing schedule continues from the next scheduled date. No further dunning emails are sent.
Donor updates their payment method on the recurring plan	The pending retry is effectively canceled. The system will attempt a charge with the new method on the next scheduled retry or billing date.
Plan is manually paused or canceled	The retry job detects the plan is paused/canceled and exits without retrying. The next_retry_at field is cleared.
Plan reaches its end date	If the plan’s ends_at date passes during dunning, the retry job detects this and exits. The plan terminates naturally.
Dunning is disabled on the organization	All active retry jobs exit immediately. Plans in mid-dunning will stop retrying but will not be automatically paused.
A newer payment is already processing	If the most recent transaction on the plan is in Success, Pending, or Processing status, the retry job exits to avoid duplicate charges.

Setting Up Dunning Notification Emails

Each of the four dunning steps sends a separate notification email. These are fully customizable through the Triggers system.

Step-by-Step Setup

Go to Engagement → Triggers.
Find the four “Recurring Installment Failed” triggers (numbered 1 through 4).
Click Edit on each trigger.
Write your message content.”
Preview the email and activate the trigger.

Important: If you don’t set up these triggers, the dunning retries will still happen (charges will be attempted), but the donor will not receive any notification emails. We strongly recommend activating all four triggers.

Available Template Variables

Use these merge tags in your dunning email templates to personalize the message:

Variable	What It Inserts
[[DONOR FIRSTNAME]]	Donor’s first name
[[DONOR NAME]]	Donor’s full name
[[AMOUNT]]	Recurring plan amount
[[FREQUENCY]]	Plan frequency (e.g., Monthly, Weekly)
[[PAYMENT METHOD]]	Payment method type (e.g., Visa ending in 4242)
[[DATE]]	Date of the failed transaction
[[ORGNAME]]	Your organization’s name
[[ACTIVE RECURRING PLAN 'CONFIRM PAYMENT METHOD FLOW LINK']]	Direct link for the donor to update their payment method

Tip: Include the payment method update link in every dunning email. This is the most effective way to recover failed payments — it takes the donor directly to a page where they can enter new card or bank details.

Recommended Email Strategy

Email #	Tone	Suggested Content Focus
1 (Day 1)	Gentle, informational	Let the donor know their payment didn’t go through. Reassure them it will be retried automatically. Include the link to update their payment method if needed.
2 (Day 3)	Friendly reminder	Remind them the issue persists. Emphasize they can fix it by updating their payment method. Mention their recurring plan amount and frequency.
3 (Day 5)	Slightly more urgent	Note that multiple attempts have failed. Ask them to take action before the final retry. Highlight the impact of their giving.
4 (Final)	Direct, action-needed	Inform them their recurring plan has been paused due to continued payment failures. Provide the update link and let them know they can contact you for help reactivating.

ACH vs. Card Payments in Dunning

The dunning retry schedule is identical for both ACH (bank account) and credit/debit card payments. However, there is one important behavioral difference:

	Credit/Debit Cards	ACH (Bank Account)
Failure detection	Immediate — the payment processor returns a failure response right away.	Delayed — ACH payments can sit in Pending or Processing status for 3–5 business days before a failure is confirmed.
Dunning trigger	Dunning starts immediately after the failed response.	Dunning starts only after the ACH payment transitions from Pending/Processing to Failed.
Retry schedule	Same: 2 days → 2 days → next billing cycle → pause.	Same: 2 days → 2 days → next billing cycle → pause.
Duplicate prevention	Standard duplicate check.	If an ACH payment is still in Pending or Processing, the retry job will skip and wait — preventing duplicate charges.

How it works: The system checks the status of the most recent transaction before each retry attempt. If it finds a payment in Success, Pending, or Processing status, the retry is skipped entirely. This is especially important for ACH, where bank clearing can take several days.

Dunning Enabled vs. Disabled: What Changes

Understanding the difference helps you decide whether to enable dunning and set expectations for your team.

Behavior	Dunning Enabled	Dunning Disabled
Automatic retries	Yes — up to 3 retries over ~7 days + next billing cycle.	No — the failed payment is not retried.
Donor notification	Sequenced emails: failed_1 through failed_4, one at each stage.	Single generic “donation_failed” email.
Plan status after failure	Stays Active during retries. Paused indefinitely only after all 4 attempts fail.	Stays Active. Plan is never automatically paused. Next regular billing date proceeds as normal.
Staff action required	Minimal — system handles recovery. Staff only intervenes for indefinitely paused plans.	Significant — staff must manually follow up on every failure and coordinate payment method updates.

Monitoring and Managing Dunning

Identifying Plans in Dunning

Plans currently in the dunning sequence can be identified by:

Apply filter on Recurring Plans table for 'In Dunning = Yes'.
The plan is Active but has a next_retry_at date set (visible in the plan’s detail view).
Recent failed transactions appear in the plan’s payment history.
The donor has received one or more “Recurring Installment Failed” emails (visible in their engagement history).

Finding Plans Paused by Dunning

To find plans that completed the dunning cycle and were paused:

Go to Payments → Recurring Plans.
Filter by Status = Paused.
Look for plans where the most recent transactions are a series of failures — these were likely paused by the dunning flow.

Best Practices for Staff

Review paused plans weekly. Reach out to donors whose plans were paused by dunning to help them reactivate.
Monitor dunning email open rates. If donors aren’t opening dunning emails, consider adjusting subject lines or sending from a recognized “from” address.
Set up all four email triggers before enabling dunning. Silent retries (without notifications) can confuse donors who see unexpected charges.
Use the payment method update link in every email. This is the single most effective recovery tool.
Don’t manually intervene during active dunning unless the donor requests it. Let the system complete its retry sequence.
After resuming a paused plan, confirm the donor’s payment method is current before selecting a next installment date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I customize the retry intervals (e.g., change from 2 days to 5 days)?

No. The retry intervals are fixed in the system: 2 days between the first three attempts, then a longer wait until the next billing cycle for the final attempt. These cannot be changed through settings.

Can I change the number of retry attempts?

No. The system always makes exactly 4 attempts (1 initial + 3 retries). This is not configurable.

What if a donor updates their card mid-dunning?

The next scheduled retry will use the updated payment method. The retry job checks for the latest payment method on the plan each time it runs. If the updated card succeeds, the donor exits dunning immediately.

Does the regular billing schedule continue during dunning?

Yes. The regular next payment date advances independently of the dunning retry sequence. This means the system properly tracks the plan’s ongoing schedule even while recovering a failed payment.

What if the donor’s plan has an end date that passes during dunning?

The retry job checks the plan’s end date before each attempt. If the end date has passed, the retry exits and the plan terminates naturally. No further retries or notifications are sent.

Does dunning apply to one-time donations?

No. Dunning only applies to recurring plans (scheduled donations). A failed one-time donation triggers a single “donation_failed” notification regardless of whether dunning is enabled.

Will the donor be charged twice if a retry overlaps with a new scheduled payment?

No. The system checks whether the most recent transaction on the plan is in a Success, Pending, or Processing state before each retry. If a payment is already in progress, the retry is skipped to prevent duplicates.